FosterFrances SmithFrances Smith FosterUnited States.Social historyMarriage--Moral and ethical aspectsUnited StatesMarriage customs and rites--United States97801993897040199389705African Americans--MarriageTo 1865African Americans--Marriage customs and riteshardback : alk. paper97801953285230195328523OxfordenkMarriage--Moral and ethical aspects--United StatesNew YorkSlaves--Family relationships--United States--HistoryAfrican Americans--Marriage--History2015-02-242010Marriage customs and ritesAfrican Americans--Marriage customs and rites--HistoryConventional wisdom tells us that marriage was illegal for African Americans during the antebellum era, and that if people married at all, their vows were tenuous ones: "until death or distance do us part." It is an impression that imbues beliefs about black families to this day. But it's a perception primarily based on documents produced by abolitionists, the state, or other partisans. It doesn't tell the whole story. Drawing on a trove of less well-known sources including family histories, folk stories, memoirs, sermons, and especially the fascinating writings from the Afro-Protestant Press, 'Til Death or Distance Do Us Part offers a radically different perspective on antebellum love and family life. Frances Smith Foster applies the knowledge she's developed over a lifetime of reading and thinking. Advocating both the potency of skepticism and the importance of story-telling, her book shows the way toward a more genuine, more affirmative understanding of African American romance, both then and now.Adam and Eve, Antoney and Isabella -- Terms of endearment -- Practical thoughts, divine mandates, and the Afro-Protestant Press -- Rights and rituals -- Myths, memory, and self-realization -- Getting stories straight, keeping them real -- Alchemy of personal politics -- Me, Mende, and Sankofa : an epilogue.History216938541'Til death or distance do us part : love and marriage in African America216938541Until death or distance do us part198en2010Slaves--Family relationshipsOxford University Press